Hackysack was invented in 1972 by John Stalberger as a game to help him rehabilitate his knee, which he injured playing football
King Louis XIV was so afraid of weapons that he ruled all pointed knives at dinner tables illegal
Duct tape was developed in 1942 for use by the U.S. Army as a waterproof sealing tape for ammunition boxes
The North
Gilbert L. Loomis of Westfield, Massachusetts, was the first American to purchase an auto insurance policy in 1897
The first person to successfully go over Niagara Falls in a barrel was 63 year old Annie Taylor, a former school teacher who needed money and thought that she would achieve fame and fortune if she was successful at the stunt - She did not become famous or receive any money, and died destitute about 20 years later
The tune to “Happy Birthday” was written by church organist Mildred Hill as a welcome song for schoolchildren; it was originally published as “Good Morning to All”
The black pirate flag known as the “Jolly Roger” was originally a bright red French surrender or die banner known as the “Jolie Rouge”
Nearly $40 billion in U.S. coins are currently in circulation
About one in every 30 Americans births results in twins
During sleep, fluid in the body tends to pool in low-lying areas, which is why many people wake up with noticeable bags under their eyes
The first ferris wheel was built by a man named George Ferris in 1893 for the Chicago Worlds Fair or the Columbian Exposition. It was intended to upstage the Eiffel Tower which was the main attraction from the 1889 Paris Exhibition. The Ferris Wheel was 264 feet and carried 2,160 people in 36 cars
Only pharaohs were allowed to eat mushrooms in ancient Egypt
It doesn’t matter how fresh-picked they are, coffee beans are actually tasteless until they’re roasted
For years, the pharmaceutical company Bayer held the
Cousins Edwin Binney and C. Harold Smith introduced their first eight Crayola crayons in 1903 - In 1962, Crayola voluntarily changed Flesh to Peach in an attempt to avoid any legal issues and encourage people to embrace seeing the world in black and peach; Introduced in 1949, Prussian Blue was unceremoniously stripped of its name in 1958, after American teachers continued to voice concerns that the crayon wasn’t Cold War–sensitive - Crayola hoped the color’s new name, Midnight Blue, would help make it less political; Introduced in 1958, Indian Red was actually named for a pigment that originated in India - Over the years, teachers began to worry that children would see the crayon as a reference to American Indians’ skin color - In 1999, the Crayola company changed the name to Chestnut
In Japan, McDonald’s gave away 10,000 MP3 players, fully loaded with 10 free songs. Problem is, many of them were also loaded with a QQPass Trojan virus that captured user info and sent it to hackers as soon as it was plugged into a computer
In 1992, Pepsi offered 1 million pesos to anyone finding a bottlecap with 349 printed on it. The problem…half a million bottlecaps got printed with 349, which would have cost 18 billion dollars. Pepsi ended up paying winners $19.00, which still cost them ten million dollars. Some bottling plants were attacked, and many Pepsi execs had to leave the country
NEWS FEED:
Competitors with nimble fingers have battled it out in a bra-removing contest at Chinese shopping mall. Participants each had to see how quickly they could unclasp eight bras, which were worn by models on a stage in Gungzhou city. The models - who all had their hair tied up to allow easy access to their bra fastenings - stood in a line as countless men tried their luck. The prize for the fastest time was 1,000 yuan. But the men were all put to shame by a woman who undid the eight bra clasps in just 21 seconds
Swiss clockmaker Artya announced in March the creation of a wristwatch set in fossilized dinosaur feces (with a strap made with skin from an American cane toad). Designer Yvan Arpa told the Associated Press the watch would sell for about $12,000
A North Carolina research organization in March, picking the state's 10 worst destinations for federal stimulus grants, included two ongoing projects at Wake Forest University: long- term cocaine-addiction in monkeys and the potential benefits of yoga on menopausal hot flashes
Child-Bearing, Explained: Virginia state legislator Bob Marshall, speaking in February in opposition to state funding for Planned Parenthood, said the organization is partly responsible for the number of disabled children in America. According to the Old Testament, he said, being forced to bear a disabled child is punishment for the mother's having earlier aborted her first-born
When stroke victims recover, they have sometimes acquired bizarre obsessions, like one by David Stopher of North Tynesdale, England, who found himself unable to say no to salespeople. According to a March Daily Mail report, the biggest beneficiary of Stopher's condition has been the wireless telephone network (known as 3), whose marketers had signed Stopher up for six different phones and plans, at the same time (and paid all on time until his brothers stepped in to persuade 3 to restructure the account)
Intelligent Evolution: Researchers from Royal Roads University in Canada reported last year that the large, carnivorous pitcher plants of Borneo prefer to eat insects and spiders, but where those are in short supply, as in Philippines highlands, the pitchers have grown to a size accommodating an alternative source of the nitrogen
they need. The pitchers have "learned" that if they produce copious amounts of nectar, it will attract the tiny-mouse-sized tree shrew to harvest it, and the shrews, trapped inside the plant, will leave droppings directly on the spot most advantageous for the pitcher to consume them. Said Professor Charles Clarke, discovery of the arrangement "totally blew us away"
